Window assemblies which are pre-assembled prior to installation are widely used in motor vehicle manufacture and other applications. Pre-assembly of the glazing unit for simple insertion into a window opening in a vehicle body during vehicle assembly has been found to yield substantial cost and quality advantages. Such window assemblies intended for use as rear windows for pickup truck cabs, for example, typically include a frame holding one or more fixed panes and a slidable pane. In the past, windows assemblies have had an undesirably bulky appearance poorly integrated into tile exterior surface of the vehicle.
As the exterior surfaces of vehicles, including pickup trucks and the like, have grown progressively smoother and more aerodynamic, a need has developed for window assemblies suitable to present a correspondingly more integrated and flush appearance. In particular, it has become desirable to provide multi-pane window assemblies wherein at least one pane is slidably mounted, which can be integrated into a recessed window opening to provide a substantially flush overall appearance.
It is an object of the present invention to provide multi-pane modular window assemblies having fixed and slidably mounted panes, presenting a substantially flush overall appearance. For motor vehicles, improved window assemblies with slidable panes are needed, which are preassembled prior to installation in the window opening, particularly as the rear window of the cab portion of a pickup truck vehicle body. It is an object of the present invention to provide such window assemblies having a slidable pane, integrated with one or more fixed panes, which are readily preassembled and are suitable for meeting strict fit and finish requirements and aesthetics requirements prevalent in motor vehicle glazing applications. Additional objects and features of the invention will be apparent from the following disclosure and detailed discussion of preferred embodiments.